


What's up, Tiger?

by SilverStreak_928



Category: Marvel, Ultimate Spider-Man (Cartoon 2012)
Genre: Daily Bugle, Fluff and Crack, Humor, M/M, Miscommunication
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-05
Updated: 2020-12-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:20:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,475
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27890644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SilverStreak_928/pseuds/SilverStreak_928
Summary: Sam thought it was hilarious that MJ always called Peter tiger. Sam teased Peter about it daily, especially when they were fighting crime. But there was one thing Sam didn't realize: tiger was a term of affection and MJ knew. Of course, through a series of chaotic events, Sam and Peter's lives become a lot crazier.Or... in other words: MJ thinks that Nova and Spider-Man are dating. Turns out, she's not wrong...
Relationships: Sam Alexander/Peter Parker
Comments: 13
Kudos: 64





	1. Prologue; kinda

Sam thought it was hilarious that MJ always called Peter tiger. Sam teased Peter about it daily, especially when they were fighting crime. But there was one thing Sam didn't realize: tiger was a term of affection and MJ knew.

It was a typical Tuesday morning when the Green Goblin attacked Midtown. All the students ran out, trying to get to safety. But MJ, being the reporter that she was, ran towards the action. MJ pulled her phone out to record.

Nova blasted the Goblin then flew out of reach. Spider-Man webbed the Goblin's legs together. Power Man knocked the Goblin off of his feet. The Goblin roared in frustration. 

"Watch your 6, Tiger!" Nova said to Spider-Man. The fight continued on for another half hour or so.

MJ went home to edit her video and work on her blog. As she researched the fight, she realized something. She had just struck gold.


	2. Chapter 2

Peter stormed up to MJ's locker, "What the hell is this?" Peter shoved his phone in her face. His screen showed MJ's blog and her most recent article titled  _ Nova and Spider-Man: are they dating? _

"Oh, you read my article. What did you think?"

"Well, for starters, there is no proof,"

"There is plenty of proof. The way Nova is always looking out for Spidey. The way they are always teasing each other and slinging their arms on one another. Nova's nickname for Spidey. It's all there,"

"The nickname? You mean Tiger? It's a nickname, nothing more,"

"Tiger is a term of endearment, Peter. Why do you care so much about it anyway?"

"No reason," Peter was trying so hard not to blow his cover.

"I'll see you later, Tiger," MJ walked away as Sam came over to Peter.

"Did you read MJ's article?" Sam asks.

"Yep,"

"It's ridiculous, right?"

"Totally,"

________

Overnight, MJ's article blew up. It was all over the news channels and social media. Some magazines took their own spin on the story, saying that Nova was hopelessly in love with the web-head, but Spidey was just too blind to see it. Reporters harassed the two heroes about it on a daily basis. 

They were late for school, again. Peter and Sam had been stopping a robbery that morning. They landed in an alleyway to change for school. Peter had rolled his mask up over his nose when he heard MJ calling his name.

"Spider-Man, Nova, can I have a word?" MJ ran into the alleyway.

"Uh… we're kinda in a rush," Peter said. Why wasn't MJ in school? 

"It'll only take a couple of minutes,"

"Alright," Sam answered. Peter mentally facepalmed. Leave it to Sam to get them stuck in this mess.

"Are the rumors true that you two are dating?"

"Uh…" MJ was recording them.

"Well, are you?" MJ was advancing. They had to be very careful about what they said next because anything they did can and would be used against them. 

Peter glanced over at Sam. Sam took the opportunity to kiss him. The kiss was short and sweet. For a minute Peter forgot about MJ. He was surprised to find that he actually liked the kiss and wanted more.

Then he heard MJ gasp.

_ Shit shit banana split. _ Sam grabbed Peter and flew to some rooftop.

"You couldn't have done that sooner?" Peter asked as he caught his breath.

"What the fuck!?" Sam said. He was freaking out.

"Don't blame this on me! You're the one who kissed me!" 

Sam groaned, "We are so dead,"

"If we get in trouble, you're taking the blame,"

"Not in a million years, this is all your fault. If  _ your  _ friend hadn't cornered us, we would be fine," Sam argued.

"You know I can't stop MJ, she's insane. But if it weren't for your nickname, we wouldn't be in this mess," they continued to bicker back and forth, complete with name-calling and all.

Finally, there was a pause. Peter glanced down, then back at Sam, "It was a nice kiss," Peter wasn't sure if Sam heard him.

"Yeah?" Sam took a step forward.

"Yeah," Peter took a step forward. The two were so close that Peter could feel Sam's breath on his face. He brought a hand to Sam's chin and tilted it up. Peter kissed Sam softly. The kiss was much longer and more passionate. 

At that moment, Peter knew they were screwed.


	3. Chapter 3

Confession time!

Sam was in love. I mean, he had to be. Why else would he be spinning in circles in his room and grinning like an idiot? The kiss, which would go down as the greatest moment in Sam's life (after getting his helmet), left Sam feeling giddy and light-headed. He didn't pay attention in school and found himself staring at Peter.

He had liked Peter for the longest time, but never in his wildest dreams did he ever imagine that Peter could like him back. Turns out, all it took was a nosy friend and her blog. Peter and Sam decided to at least try dating, mostly as a joke.

They would show off in front of cameras and see sickening romantic things to each other in public. They went way overboard. The press gobbled it up and J Jonah Jameson started complaining that it was "too much PDA".

Peter would come over to hellicarrier daily to hang out with Sam. The rest of the team didn't believe that Sam and Peter were actually dating. They thought it was some ruse to screw with the media, which was partly true.

The only downside was the fact that Peter and Sam couldn't be seen together when they weren't fighting crime or patrolling. Peter was worried that it would be too obvious to his classmates that they were Spider-Man and Nova. 

Currently, Sam was lying on Peter's lap. They had been working on homework at Peter's house since Aunt May wasn't home.

"I want to take you on a date," Peter said as he ran his fingers through Sam's fluffy hair. (Sam had forgotten to put gel in that morning and Peter teased him about it for a full lunch period. Later Peter told Sam that he looked adorable with fluffy hair)

"We are on a date," Sam responded.

"I mean a  _ date  _ date. No costumes. A normal date. Just you and me. We could go get dinner or catch a movie?"

"Sure, does Wednesday work?" Sam smiles coyly.

"A movie and dinner?" Peter asks. Sam nods his head, "it's a date!"


	4. Chapter 4

Sam had been called to detention during his last period on Wednesday. He was just supposed to take out some robbers. It would have been dealt with a lot sooner if he had the team but Coulson had insisted on only sending Sam. 

Sam cleaned up as quickly as he could. He had a date to catch. Sam flew back to school as fast as possible. School had just ended and students were climbing into buses and walking home by the time Sam got there. He spied Peter in the crowd, who was looking for Sam so that they could walk to the movie theater together. 

Sam, who was still wearing his Nova helmet, dove down and picked Peter up bridal style. Peter let out a shocked gasp and his arms instinctively wrapped around Sam's neck.

"Hey, Tiger,"

"Sam, what are you doing here?" Peter hissed under his breath, "you're going to blow our cover,"

Oh.

Below, everyone had their phones out to take photos and videos of Peter and Nova.

_ Shit shit banana split. _

They were so screwed. Suddenly, a tin can hit Sam in the back.

"What was that for?!"

"That's for cheating on Spidey!" Flash Thompson yelled through the crowd. Everyone started agreeing with Flash and it became apparent that the two needed to get out of there.

Meanwhile, Harry stood in the middle of the crowd and thought he might die of laughter because, really, people are idiots sometimes.


	5. Chapter 5

The media went crazy over the "Nova scandal". Peter knew there was nothing they could do to fix their situation, so he figured they might as well have some fun. Peter and Sam were doing separate patrols. They made sure to catch the news helicopters' attention, then they met up on the Chrysler Building.

When they were certain that the whole world was watching them, the show began.

"How dare you! How  _ DARE  _ you?!" Peter approached Sam.

"Spidey…" Nova said.

"I loved you! And instead, you cheat on me with some kid?!"

"He's not just some kid, Peter's… special,"

"Special? That's what you're going with? I was bitten by a  _ radioactive _ spider and became a hero. Apparently,  _ that's _ not "special" enough for you!"

"Spidey, it's not like that,"

"Oh really? Come off it Nova. The kid's not even half as good looking as me. You did this to hurt me!" Peter was having a hard time trying not to smile under his mask. He was trying his best to fake tears and somehow he was succeeding.

"Oh please! Even I know you aren't _ that _ good looking," Peter fake gasped and he saw Sam's body shake with laughter.

"We are done!" Peter sniffed and wiped fake tears away. Then he swung off.

That night, Sam and Peter curled up on the couch in the hellicarrier. The rest of the team joined them.

"Whatcha doing?" Luke asked.

"Rewatching the news from today," Sam rewinds the video. They watched the whole fight again. Sam and Peter were laughing hysterically. The camera returned to JJJ, who was wiping away tears. Peter and Sam saw that and lost it again.

"Weirdos," Ava muttered under her breath.

At school, Peter was crowded by students asking what it was like to date a superhero.

"Yeah, Parker," Flash Thompson's mocking tone rang through the hallway, "how much did you have to pay to get him?"

"I got him for free, but if you're that desperate I know a place down in Jersey that could help you out for a price," the crowd "ohh"ed. Flash scowled and stormed off. Honestly, it wasn't that good of a burn, but Peter wasn't about to complain.

"Peter, Peter!" A freshman ran up to Peter, "what is Nova like?"

"Well," Peter shot a smirk at Sam, "Nova's cocky and overconfident and egotistical," Sam rolls his eyes.

"But, he's also kind and smart. He's funny and very cute. He never ceases to impress me," at that point, Peter was staring at Sam. He knew he was grinning like an idiot and Sam's cheeks were bright red.

The first bell rang and the crowd dispersed. MJ walked up to Peter.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what?"

"That you're dating a superhero!"

"Oh, that,"

"Yeah, that,"

"I was afraid that you would be mad that I ruined your favorite couple,"

"Well, you did just ruin this year's cutest couple, but I'm your friend. You should be able to trust me with anything,"

"I know, I'm sorry," 


	6. Chapter 6

Turns out even the villains felt bad for Spidey. Lots of them just gave up when they saw Spider-Man and when Peter would bring them to the police the villains would say stuff like, "I'm so sorry that had to happen to you," or "Nova's an idiot for giving you up,"

Honestly, Peter was flattered. If only all his villains could be that nice.

Saturday was supposed to be date night. Sam and Peter had gone all the way to Brooklyn to have a nice, peaceful dinner. But, of course, someone had to ruin it. They had just ordered their food when Doc Ock appeared on TVs all across New York.

"Spider-Man, come to Central Park if you want these poor, innocent people to live,"

"You know it's a trap, right Tiger?" Sam said. 

Peter smiled, "I know, bucket-head,"

They ran to the alleyway, got dressed, and flew off to Central Park. White Tiger, Power Man, and Iron Fist were already there, fighting the Sinister Six.

"I thought I told you to come alone," Doc Ock growled. (To Peter, it sounded like Doc Ock was just whining like a big baby)

"You must be really losing it, Otto, cause you definitely didn't say that. Maybe you're getting too old for this," Peter quipped. Doc Ock lashed out by trying to stab Peter. Peter was happy to keep fighting Doc Ock, but the Sinister Six had other ideas.

"Poor, Spider, all alone with a broken heart," Rhino taunted as he rushed at Peter.

_ Oh! That's right. Nova was supposed to break my heart. _

Peter didn't feel like dealing with that right now, instead, he said, "wow, Rhino, your grammar is improving. Did you finally start going to kindergarten?" Rhino roared in frustration. 

Their fight moved into the city. The Sinister Six switched again. This time, Peter was fighting Electro. Peter wrapped his hands in webbing for insulation.

"Hey, that's cheating!" Electro complained.

"If you want cheating tips, I'm sure Nova could help you," Peter responded. Electro snarled and threw a bolt of electricity at him.

"Not cool, Webs," Nova said as he fought Scorpion. Jeez, Peter was pissing off everyone tonight.

"Cooler than you cheating on me with a High schooler,"

"Will you let it go already?!"

"Not until you let him go," now, was probably not the best time to be having a mock-argument. Peter had let himself get distracted and didn't see the metal tentacle moving straight towards his head.

__________

Nova watched in slow motion as Peter got knocked out. Doc Ock grabbed Peter and threw him into a wall. There was a sickening crack. Then, Rhino rammed into the building. The building fell apart and the ruble fell on Peter.

"NO!" Sam rushed towards the pile of rubble. The Sinister Six had disappeared into the sewers, but Sam didn't care. He needed to find Peter. He quickly started blasting away ruble. The rest of the team helped move the bricks and scaffolding. Finally, Sam saw the red and blue of Peter's costume. He pulled Peter out.

"Come on, come on. Wake up, Tiger," Sam tried shaking Peter awake, "God damnit, Spidey, get up!" Sam ripped Peter's mask off and tried to feel his pulse. 

"Move over," Ava pushed Sam out of the way. She then drenched Peter in water.

( _ Where did she get the bucket of water?) _

Peter spluttered in surprise, "w-what happened?" Sam wrapped Peter in a tight hug.

"Oh, thank god," 

"Calm down, bucket-head. I'm alright,"

"Nova cheated on Spider-Man _with_ Spider-Man?!" JJJ shouted on the DBC billboard things, "this is like that Piña Cola song!" Peter gave Sam a shocked look. He saw his mask on the ground. Peter gave him a look that said, " _are you serious_!?"

"Nova!!!!" Peter shouted. 

"Sorry?" Sam offered. He flew off to escape Peter's fury and they all lived happily ever after. The end!

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might do a sequel that involves Peter getting his revenge on Sam if you guys like the story.


End file.
